1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for handling contaminated persons and, more specifically, the invention relates to a device for handling individuals contaminated with radiation, toxic materials, pathogens, etc., in emergency room, medical triage, morgue or mortuary-type settings, while minimizing contamination of cleaning personnel.
2. Background of the Invention
The use of vigorous and sometimes messy resuscitation and emergency medical techniques is the bane of the existence of every emergency medical services (EMS) worker. Each year, hundreds of EMS workers are inadvertently exposed to detrimental materials during efforts to decontaminate patients. Pathologists, morgue-technicians and mortuary personnel face similar hazards.
With the constant threat of exposure to bodily-fluid borne pathogens, caustic toxics, and radiation contamination, EMS personnel must minimize their own exposure while also decontaminating their patients as quickly and efficiently as possible. Examples of hazardous substances that EMS personnel must concern themselves with include, but are not limited to, Human Immune Virus (HIV), Hepatitis, harsh inorganic acids and bases of varying molarities, harsh organic acids and bases of varying molarities, and radioactive materials, said materials ranging in activity from approximately 100 counts per minute (cpm) to 500 Roentgens (R). In many instances federal and state laws mandate that affirmative steps be taken to protect decontamination workers. For example, Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules (29 CFR 1910.1030) specify when and how EMS workers are to be protected from blood born pathogens. Additional legislation promises to further scrutinize worker safety and contaminated-fluid disposal in both the medical triage and mortuary industries. Indeed, many of the concerns of EMS workers also effect morgue and mortuary personnel, particularly during autopsy and embalming processes.
Various devices exist for handling patients, either at the scene of exposure or in the emergency room. One type of device is an enclosed shower arrangement wherein the patient uses water flow, body brushes, wash cloths, and the like to decontaminate himself. In these instances, all cleaning materials, including the waste water, must be retained for proper disposal. Enclosed shower arrangements are bulky and expensive, and require a somewhat lucid patient to do his or her own cleaning. Such systems also cannot be transported easily while in use.
Another decontamination method involves placing the exposed patient, who is often only semiconscious, onto a decontamination table whereby EMS personnel would scrub the patient. An example of this type of decontamination device is U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,925.
Another decontamination device, called Toxitub.RTM., manufactured by GlassMed Inc., of Kensington, N.H., features a tub configuration nested into a metal tub retention frame.
There are several drawbacks with current decontamination table devices. One such drawback is that with some devices, cleansing fluids, such as water or detergent, and body fluids splash off the patient and table surface and onto adjacent structures and EMS personnel. This is due to the fact that the patient is not recessed into the unit. Furthermore, devices in which persons are laying flush with the top of the unit present a roll-off hazard to patients.
Another salient drawback to current decontamination devices on the market is that accompanying catch basins are stand alone units. Stand alone basins are easily tipped over during the bustle of patient care, resulting in contaminated fluid spilling onto emergency room or medical triage room floors and surfaces. The existence of stand alone catch basins also require that both the basin and the patient-bearing surface be moved in tandem, lest the conduit connecting the two units detach, resulting in spillage and subsequent contamination of surrounding surfaces. Such in-tandem transport usually requires that at least two workers help in moving the device when in use. This multi-personnel requirement hampers the rapid, contamination-free removal of a contaminated individual from an accident scene in instances where conditions suddenly worsen; as such, the safety of both EMS worker and patient can be jeopardized.
Another problem with typical table configurations is that EMS personnel, who by necessity often have to do most of the patient's cleaning, must wear special disposable, scrub-suit-like garments to minimize exposure to contaminating substances.
Yet another problem with some decontamination devices is that metal or other electrically conductive material incorporated into the devices are not insulated. In these instances, EMS personnel must use extreme caution before attempting to cardiovert or defibrillate cardiac cases so as to avoid electrocution.
Generally, the prior art is lacking in that many of the devices currently in use address only the decontamination aspect of patient care and not the EMS worker safety aspect of patient care.
A need exists in the art for providing a contamination control device to allow EMS personnel to thoroughly decontaminate exposed patients while also affording those EMS workers maximum protection from exposure either on the scene of exposure, en route to medical facilities, or in the medical facility itself. The device should be applicable to decontaminate patients who are not only fully conscious, but also for those patients who are semi-conscious, unconscious, or who must be restrained or rendered immobile. Such a device is also necessary to protect pathology, morgue and mortuary personnel from exposure to deleterious pathogens, chemicals or radiation. Finally, the device should allow rapid and contamination-free evacuation of a contaminated individual from a splash scene while the device is in use by requiring a minimum number of evacuation personnel.